Upcoming Community Events, 2/7/19

A collection of community events curated by our Equity Team.

1. Free First Thursday. Feb 7, various. Enjoy free admission to NAAM, SAM, MOHAI, Wing Luke, the Burke Museum, Japanese Garden and more. https://www.parentmap.com/calendar/28967

2. Kijiji Night. Feb 7 from 6:00pm–9:00pm at Seattle Art Museum. Free. http://seattleartmuseum.org/visit/calendar/events?EventId=63398

3. Exploring Racism in the Women's Suffrage Movement. Feb 7 from 6:30pm–8:00pm at Seattle First Baptist Church. Free. https://www.facebook.com/events/575124869628168/

4. Black History Month Artist Showcase: Aramis O. Hamer. Feb 8 4:00pm–5:00pm at Renton Library. Free. https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/events/5c25561f664f462a009b1f57

5. Children’s Film Festival Seattle Inspires Kids to Be the Dream. Through Feb 9 at Northwest Film Forum. $9/$12. https://childrensfilmfestivalseattle.org/2019-festival-calendar/

6. Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Lunar New Year Celebration. Feb 9 from 11:00am-4:00pm in the ID. Free. https://cidbia.org/events/lunar-new-year/

7. 10th Annual Lunar New Year Costume Contest. Feb 9 at 11:00am in front of the Northwest Asian Weekly in the ID. Free.
http://nwasianweekly.com/events/

8. Lunar New Year Celebration. Feb 9 from 11:00am–6:00pm at The Bellevue Collection. Free. https://lunarnewyear.bellevuecollection.com/

9. Lunar New Year. Feb 9 from 12:00pm–6:00pm at the Lounge by AT&T. Free. https://www.facebook.com/events/332901480651575/

10. Lunar New Year. Feb 9 from 2:00pm–4:00pm at Bellevue Botanical Garden. Free. https://bellevuebotanical.org/event/lunar-new-year-celebration/

11. 52nd Annual Lunar New Year Gala. Feb 9 from 5:30pm–9:30pm at Kane Hall Room 130 UW. $5. https://www.facebook.com/events/348912052569975/

12. Black History Month Lecture: Afrofuturism 101 with Nisi Shawl. Feb 10 at 1:00pm at Renton Library. Free. https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/events/5c2559a63d8741200065c290

13. Monday Movie Night: The Hate U Give. Feb 11 from 4:00pm– 6:00pm at Renton Highlands Library. Free. https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/events/5c256034664f462a009b222b

14. Author Talk: Zaitoun by Yasmin Khan. Feb 11 at 6:30 pm at the Book Larder. Free, RSVP. https://www.booklarder.com/events/info/author-talk-zaitoun

15. Ralina L. Joseph Reads And Discusses 'Postracial Resistance'. Feb 12 from 7:00pm–8:00pm at Central Library. Free. https://www.spl.org/event-calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D130932686

Help Rank Our Community’s Walking Improvements

Our community has a grant project proposal, Sacajawea Elementary Community: Safer Pedestrian Connections on NE 90th Street, in round 2 of the Neighborhood Street Fund Program's current funding cycle.

The biggest way you can help is to give our project a high rating during this community-input process. You can give your opinion on this project using our project link. Detailed directions are below.

The City of Seattle has made it painless and quick to set up an account to vote for your favorite projects in District 5. It takes less than a minute set up. Enter your basic info and choose Council District 5. Then rank projects. Please give this project a high ranking. It is part of a larger project plan that SDOT/Safer Routes to School and community members are working on to make all our streets safer and more accessible to enjoy by foot. 

Our momentum is strong, and if we can keep it up, we are sure to make it to the voting phase, scheduled to begin in late March. Please take a couple of minutes to rank this community project. Your voice truly makes a difference!

If you’d like to get on a mailing list, get more information, or get involved in creating a more walk-friendly community, contact Karla Sclater (SAC mom) atkarla.sclater@outlook.com. 

Please share this information with your neighbors (here's our project flyer). This work includes the entire Sacajawea Elementary community, so people do not have to have children in our school. This project will benefit everyone!

Principal Friesen's Letter, Feb. 7th 2019

Dear Sacajawea Families,

I hope you are all staying warm and safe in our current weather! Yesterday, we were all happy to be back at Sacajawea! Thanks to all of the students, staff and families who did an excellent job of keeping our Snow Pick-Up and Drop-Off procedures smooth and safe for all. We are anticipating the possibility of more inclement weather on Friday, but hoping that the storm will not arrive before school is out for the day. In case of any Sacajawea-Specific changes in procedure, I will communicate by email and a recorded phone message as I did this morning. Any changes that are district-wide will be communicated through normal district channels as they have been earlier this week.

This week, we are engaging in Black Lives Matter at School week. Due to the snow days, the week will extend through February 12th. Our Sacajawea Equity Team and various students and teachers have put up posters and displays throughout Sacajawea that will be here during February, which is also Black History Month. These displays are just one part of the learning students are doing at Sacajawea. Classroom work and assemblies will also include learning about Black history. The learning we do during Black History Month is just one way to help us remember that Black History is all of our history, and that the story of our world includes all kinds of people. 

In addition, this week, we are celebrating Lunar New Year. Due to not having an assembly on Monday, we will spend some time at next Monday’s assembly reminding students of this celebration. In the meantime, when your child comes home with a red envelope at some point this week, ask them what they’ve learned about it!

Here's some information about the holiday from our Equity Team:

February 5, 2019, the year 4717 begins! 2019 is the year of the Pig. Lunar New Year festivities begin on the first day of the first lunar month on the Chinese calendar and continue until the 15th of the lunar month, when the moon is full. 

Chinese legend holds that Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on New Year's Day and named a year after each of the twelve animals that came. The animals in the Chinese calendar are the dog, pig/boar, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, and rooster. Also, according to legend, people born in each animal's year have some of that animal's personality traits.
 
Each day of the fifteen day celebration has its own traditions, such as visiting in-laws, or staying home to welcome good fortune. Families gather together for meals, especially for a feast on New Year's Eve. At Lunar New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. Another tradition includes giving cash in a red envelope, called a "hongbao," to children and single adults. Lunar New Year ends with the lantern festival, celebrated at night with displays and parades of painted lanterns. 

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

In Partnership,
 
Rachel Friesen
Sacajawea Elementary School

Hiring Team Training, Coming in February, March, and April 2019

Every year, Seattle Public Schools starts the hiring process for next year’s staff as early as late March or early April. While we don’t anticipate big staffing changes next year at Sacajawea, there may be a need to convene hiring teams as early as April and possibly later in the summer as our staffing needs change. Parents are an important part of our decision process whenever we hire new staff. 

If you’d like to be on a hiring team, you will need to take the District/SEA hiring training. You only need to take it once in your life, and you will then be eligible to be on a hiring team in any Seattle Public School in the future.

The next upcoming trainings are: February 12th, March 19th and April 16th. If you attend an upcoming training, or you have already been trained, and are willing to participate in interview teams, please let Rachel know by emailing rlfriesen@seattleschools.org. Thank you!

To find dates and sign up, please review this document. 

Curious How Seattle Funds Their Public Schools?

In February 2019, Seattle voters will be asked to replace two expiring levies to fund Seattle Public Schools. Curious about how these levies will affect our school? On January 31st, the SPS budget department is going to talk to us about how the Seattle Public Schools budget works, and give us information about the upcoming levies. We’ll have a movie night for the children, while adults have the opportunity to learn about the budget and levy process.

Read more about the levies from the SPS on their Levies page.